Over the weekend, a federal judge in the District of Columbia overturned the District’s ban on allowing residents to carry firearms outside their home. Palmer v. District of Columbia is a landmark decision for gun rights — at least for the time being. The District of Columbia has said that it will seek a stay of the decision, which became effective immediately, and the District will appeal the decision.Gavel with American flag

An immediate effect of the ruling was an order approved by Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, who told her force told that District residents are permitted to carry pistols if the weapons are registered. Those who had not registered their handguns could be charged on that ground, the instruction said.

Lanier’s instructions to police also said that residents of other jurisdictions without felony records would not be charged under the ban on carrying pistols.

Yes, it was almost immediately ‘stayed’ but we’re still seeing judges who actually consult the Constitution, rather than talking points from the Democratic Party. Nice.

In Judge Scullin’s decision, he extensively cited Supreme Court decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008 and McDonald v. Chicago in 2010, concluding, “there is no longer any basis on which this court can conclude that the District of Columbia’s total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny.”

Additionally, the court “enjoins Defendants from enforcing the home limitations [of D.C. firearms laws] unless and until such time as the District of Columbia adopts a licensing mechanism consistent with constitutional standards enabling people to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms.”

Obviously the anti-gunners have to fight these with everything they have, because if freedom reigns for any length of time, the crime rate would likely go down, and citizens would realize they don’t need the police and politicians quite as much to “protect” them from the predators they’ve allowed to run free and terrorize them.